Design Book Notes Series
An Essay on Typography by Eric Gill
The Book in 2 Sentences
It talks about the unspoken rules of book printing in short essays by Eric Gill one of the pioneers of modern typography.
The book is divided into 9 short essays about the challenges that the typesetter was facing during the industrial movement were Eric Gill shares his arguments on what makes a type a good one, what is the designer role and how the creation of the machine has affected the craft of typesetting.
Impressions
I was reading this book while studying Megg's History of Graphic Design and it was interesting to understand the effect of the creation of printers and how it shifted the rule of the typesetter. Before the designer was involved in all aspects of developing type and printing books.
I think what made this book fun to read is how Eric Gill was roasting everyone. He had such high standards and arguments about design and what makes a type a good one. One of his argument that I hooked me to continue reading the book was his definition of an artist. He said and I quote:
"We affirm that the word Art means skill, that a work of art is a work of skill, and an artist one who is skillful at making things. It would appear therefore that all things made are works of art, for skill is required in the making of anything. And in spite of industrialism this remains true. But, as we have said, the ordinary workman has been reduced to the level of a mere tool used by someone else. However much skill he may have in his fingers and conscientiousness in his mind, he can no longer be regarded as an artist, because his skill is not that of a man making things; he is simply a tool used by a designer and the designer is alone the artist."
How I Discovered It
I discovered An Essay on Typography by reading about typography and the industrialism era in Europe in Graphic Design History A Critical Guide.
Who Should Read It?
I believe that if you are a graphic design student you should read the book to understand the shift in typography caused by the invention of printing and mass production.
However, if you are interested in typography and book design then you defiantly must read this book. Eric Gill shares his knowledge on the process of printing a book from choosing the right size of type to the right size of the book in a very logical and simple explanation.
My Top 3 Quotes
Typography, like house building & sanitary engineering, is one of necessary arts - a thing to be done well.
Our argument here is not that industrialism has made things worse, but that it has inevitably them different; and that whereas before industrialism there was one world, now there are two.
before the divorce of the designer from the workman, before the workman had become intellectually irresponsible and the designer technically incapable, show a liveliness and variety otherwise unattainable.